Demolition Of Country Dinner Playhouse Begins

DENVER (CBS4) – It was once the second-largest theater in the state of Colorado. The Country Dinner Playhouse at Arapahoe Road and Interstate 25 closed more than 3 years ago, but on Tuesday crews began to demolish it.

More than a dozen former employees, some who started working at the playhouse in the 1980s, were there to watch what they described as the end of an era come down.

The playhouse opened in 1970 but closed for financial reasons, according to employees.

Even though it has been since 2007 that it closed, seeing the building disappear for good was still hard for former employees.

“I was pretty devastated. I always thought that this would be my working career and also my personal career, that this was where I would live out my years — at the playhouse, making sure that people for years and years would get to experience the magic of live musical theater here in Denver,” former playhouse actor Paul Dwyer said.

Academy Award nominee Amy Adams and Broadway star Annaleigh Ashford both got their start at the Country Dinner Playhouse.

The demolition is expected to take about a week. It will be replaced by a Restaurant Depot — a national food service wholesaler where restaurants shop for supplies.